Local veteran shares his adventures in the U.S. Navy

June 20, 2011

Editor's note: The Journal's annual Unsung Heroes feature profiles local veterans who served in wars and conflicts from World War II to the present. Anyone with a veteran or "Rosie" suggestion can call City Editor Beth Henry at 304-263-8931, ext. 129.

MARTINSBURG - Robert E. Lee, 90, who goes by "Bob," was once a young man sitting on the fantail of a submarine tender headed to the Philippines, watching its propellers churn a fluorescent trail behind him.

It was the chemicals stirring, he said, that made the water light up.

Article Photos

Journal photo by Ron AgnirRobert E. ‘Bob’ Lee, of Martinsburg, recounts his Naval experiences as a radioman on a submarine tender in the South Pacific.

Photo courtesy of the Lee Family ArchivesRobert E. ‘Bob’ Lee, of Martinsburg, signed up with the U.S. Navy at 19.

At 19 years old in 1940, Lee had every intention of joining the Air Force. He'd grown up on a 500-acre ranch in Montana with four brothers, who all joined the military, and a sister.

"I really had intentions of flying, but the Air Force didn't open their office until later on in the season," Lee said. "As I was leaving, I passed the Navy recruiting office. I walked out two hours later with a signed application of six years."

After bootcamp, he was assigned to the USS Holland in Hawaii.

"When we went on maneuvers, that was something else. It was fantastic for a country boy to see all the ships - there were at least 50 in the fleet," Lee said.

During his time on the ship, Lee taught himself to be a radioman. Radiomen were better than strikers, he said, who delivered messages and chipped barnacles off the ship's bottom.

Lee sat in the coding room, learning how to send and receive in international code.

"They called for strikers to go up to the radio shack, and I outsmarted them. I happened to be at the tail end of the line when they interviewed us. What they did was send the person's name over, and so by the time it got to me I finally deciphered what they were doing. ... That's how I got in the radio shack."

Each day was packed, Lee said. From dawn, he made coffee, chased messages, scrubbed the deck and performed odd jobs.

"One of my last days as a messenger, I crawled up the stairs to the radio shack - hanging to both railings. I thought, man, if I can make third class, I can get out of this. So I eventually made third class," he said.

One of Lee's most memorable moments came after he checked a submarine for leaks. An aviator of a PBY plane offered to fly him above while checking for air bubbles.

"It was the most sensational episode I ever had. Absolutely fantastic! Couldn't believe it," he said. "The plane had a bubble out in the nose. It was like being out there all by yourself with nothing holding you up. When we came into land, you could swear that water's traveling 500 miles per hour beneath you."

Lee spent a period on the submarine Sailfish, stopping at Midway and a floating island in the Philippines. When he returned to Hawaii, he received two letters.

"One letter was from the Air Force saying to come on over and take the physical," he said. "The other said no more inter-service transfers, so my air days vanished real quickly."

Lee went on serving in the Navy, and he recalled a frightening night spent in Manila Bay. The Japanese bombed the Cavite Navy Yard, in a city just across the bay from Lee.

"I and a few others had decided to sleep topside. It was hot and muggy down below in the bunkroom," he said. "All at once about midnight, the noise - it came all the way across from Cavite. The sky was lit up like a firecracker. Bombs popped all over the place. They demolished Cavite."

Two days later, bombs targeted the USS Holland. Fortunately, they landed several hundred yards away. U.S. ships hauled up anchors and moved south.

Lee also spent a chunk of his Navy time in Australia, helping to defend the country from Japanese attacks from February to July 1942. During his time posted in Fremantle, Lee met his Australian wife, Ruby.

"Ruby and her girlfriend walked into the room and that was it," Lee said. "Two weeks later, we were engaged. A couple years later, we were married."

Each June, Australian citizens conduct a memorial service to celebrate U.S. submariners who protected them. A memorial overlooks the Albany Harbor in Australia for the sailors lost at sea, on eternal patrol.

When asked about submarines today, Lee said, "I'd love to take a trip on one of those nuclear submarines. Shockingly big - they're like a mansion!"

After his service, Lee spent time in both America and Australia, and he has worked in more than 50 different jobs or locations. He and Ruby had three children, and Lee currently lives in Martinsburg.